Brickbats: December 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Politics
Blaming Bill Buckley for Racism, January 6, and More
Historian David Austin Walsh tries and fails to rebut Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism thesis.
The New York Times Claimed D.C.'s Minimum Wage Hike Created Jobs. We Exposed Their Error.
The reporting was cited by One Fair Wage as proof that its policy worked.
I Tried Lab-Grown Salmon. Here's What It Tasted Like.
Cultivated meat is getting better and better. That's why states keep trying to ban it.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
A grizzly murder, double jeopardy, and public magistrations.
Deepfake Crackdowns Threaten Free Speech
From criminal penalties to bounty hunters, state laws targeting election-related synthetic media raise serious First Amendment concerns.
Is Javier Milei Actually Improving Argentina?
Two Argentine pundits debate the success of Javier Milei.
Gladiator II Is a Lavish, Empty Spectacle
Ridley Scott heard you liked Gladiator, so he thought he'd give you some more gladiators with your gladiator.
Gaetz Pulls Out
Plus: NYC stabbing spree, rescheduling pot, Burke vs. Paine, and more...
Part XV: Taking Private Property for Public Use
An Introduction To Constitutional Law Video Library: Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon (1922), Penn Central Transportation Company v. New York (1978), Kelo v. City of New London (2005)
California Progressivism Is Not the Path Forward for Democrats
To deflect further assaults on democratic norms, Trump's foes will need a skilled, focused, and thoughtful leader. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is not that guy.
Incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Beef With NewsGuard Is Legally Dubious and Empirically Shaky
The company, which says it takes an "apolitical approach" to rating news outlets, faces regulatory threats and a congressional probe because of its perceived bias against conservatives.
Alaska Keeps Ranked Choice Voting by Razor-Thin Margin
With 50.1 percent of the final tally, Alaskans voted to preserve a system that allows voters more choice in how they vote, and who they vote for.
Yuval Levin: What is Trump's "Mandate"?
A.E.I.'s Yuval Levin discusses Trump's mandate (or lack thereof), building coalitions, and how the classic divide between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine remains relevant.
Bullish on DOGE
Plus: ICC goes after Netanyahu, Biden's questionable competence, Gaetz's sexcapades, and more...
Part XIV: The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
An Introduction To Constitutional Law Video Library: District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen (2022)
Part XIII: No Law Respecting An Establishment Of Religion
An Introduction To Constitutional Law Video Library: Engel v. Vitale (1962), McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005), Van Orden v. Perry (2005), Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)
Beer Lobby Wants Restrictions and Higher Taxes on Intoxicating Hemp Products
The proposal brings to mind the classic "bootleggers and Baptists" theory in which both moralists and competitors oppose a substance.
Trump's Grammatical Time Machine
The president-elect uses conditional grammar to craft self-fulfilling speculative historical fiction.
California Bucks Alaska and Missouri by Rejecting Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative
The Democratic state displayed more economic literacy than its Republican counterparts.
Planned Obsolescence
Plus: New York (the adult playground), almost to Mars, Elon Musk's sins, and more...
Democrats Did Themselves No Favors by Veering Hard to the Left
Economics likely spelled doom for Harris, but extreme ideology sealed her party’s fate.
We Are Going To Learn More About Matt Gaetz's Sex Life Than We Wanted
Trump's pick for attorney general is manifestly unqualified for the job, even without considering the salacious details of the ethics charges against him.
Will Doug Burgum Be Donald Trump's Housing Czar?
Plus: Democrats' housing-lite postelection recriminations and yet another ballot box defeat for pro–rent control forces in California.
West Virginia Voters Passed a Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Assisted Suicide
But the amendment won't prevent the state from killing you.
The Clock Is Running Out for Student Loan Forgiveness
With only months left in his term, Biden wants to forgive the loans of nearly eight million borrowers experiencing "hardship."
Mass Deportations
Plus: New York's transit authority needs cash, baristas don't understand economics, and more...
Part XII: The Free Exercise of Religion
An Introduction To Constitutional Law Video Library: Sherbert v. Verner (1963), Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), Employment Division v. Smith (1990), Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993), Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014)
How Scientific American's Departing Editor Helped Degrade Science
When magazines like Scientific American are run by ideologues producing biased dreck, it only makes it more difficult to defend the institution of science itself.
Part XI: Freedom of Speech
An Introduction To Constitutional Law Video Library: Schenck v. United States (1919), Debs v. United States (1919), Gitlow v. People of the State of New York (1925), Abrams v. United States (1919), Stromberg v. California (1931), United States v. O’Brien (1968), Texas v. Johnson (1989), R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992), Buckley v. Valeo (1976), McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003), Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), Snyder v. Phelps (2011), U.S. v. Stevens (2010), Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011), Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Infographic: How Republicans and Democrats View Federal Agencies
Democrats tend to view the feds favorably but many agencies are under water among Republicans.
The National Debt Just Hit $36 Trillion. Does Trump Have a Plan To Control It?
It would take nearly $8 trillion in budget cuts merely to stabilize the national debt so it does not grow faster than the economy.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Ivory Law, non-essential supplies, and medically induced comas.
The Math Does Not Favor Avoiding Senate Scrutiny of Trump's Bizarre Cabinet Picks
Several Republican senators have said they are not inclined to abdicate their "advice and consent" role in presidential appointments.
Starlink Election Fraud Claims Show Dems Are Not Immune to Conspiracy Theories
The spread of conspiracy theories in response to a bruising electoral loss is not only found on the political right.
